40 years ago: Man shot, killed during tavern burglary

A man in the act of burglarizing the In Sight Tavern, 2205 Haskell, had been shot and killed by police officers this week during their response to the burglar alarm at the site, according to Police Chief Richard Stanwix. Richard Cossaart, 23, had been killed by a shot from a police officer's gun after the 3:30 a.m. response. The police report indicated that one of the first officers arriving on the scene had been wounded by shotgun pellets, apparently fired from inside the tavern. Several canisters of tear gas had been tossed into the building, and officers said they had shouted to the person in the building to come out before firing. The department was following the regular procedure of relieving the officers from active duty until the coroner's inquest could be held.

The appropriately-named Dennis Brain, a Lawrence High School junior, had won the top award at this year's Douglas County Science Fair. Brain, 17, had presented on his study of the interaction of phosphorous and carbon in limiting the growth of algae. Stan Roth, teacher of biology and advanced biology at LHS, had been presented with the Outstanding Teacher Award at the fair.